Nicole Hollar explains the enteric nervous system, the intrinsic nervous system that controls digestion and other involuntary functions. About 80 to 90 percent of signaling between gut and brain flows from gut to brain, not the other way around. The ENS works through parasympathetic and sympathetic divisions to regulate the gastrointestinal tract, pancreas, and gallbladder.
Science has shown that 80 to 90% of the communication in that enteric nervous system, which is between the esophagus and the anus, goes from the gut to the brain. Now, the enteric nervous system, also known as the intrinsic nervous system, is part of the autonomic nervous system. And what that is, it manages involuntary things like breathing, your heart rate, arousal, your blood pressure, and digestion. Of the autonomic nervous system, we have 3 divisions. We have our parasympathetic, our sympathetic, and our vagus. Enteric system. Now, the enteric system is basically your gastrointestinal tract, your pancreas, and your gallbladder.
